The Apple Doesn't Fall Far
by ryoku1
Summary: Can you atone for the blood in your veins and the eyes on your face and the hair on your head? Gerome doesn't think so. Set in the future the children come from.


The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

This option is probably a good one, the most promising they've had - Naga's gifts shouldn't be squandered - but for Gerome this is a nightmare, regardless of what may come to pass. Asking his opinion is, in all reality exceptionally cruel, and from the looks he's getting the other three know it. Certainly they understand the gravity of his circumstances, yet here they are, putting the proposition to debate. It's less of a debate then a sermon ,really. He figures that they've all thought long and hard about what they want to say to him; this farce in asking him at all is laughable, if Gerome was the laughing type. It would be so much easier if they had just decided and weren't asking for his blessing. He knows that it won't matter what he says, but here they are regardless, trying to persuade him any way.

"As one door opens, another will close. Squandering such an opportunity is an unsavory prospect." Ever the voice of reason, Laurent stands to the side, opposite Severa. His lips are thin, and if you were unskilled at reading his subtleties you'd never know that thin lipped look is the closest Laurent gets to smiling. His eyes are as sympathetic as Laurent's eyes get, and they are angled squarely at Gerome. He wishes they weren't. This is Lucina's decision, not his. Even if he spoke his reservations, he knows none of them are going to really consider his position. This is all really a formality, they'll do what they want regardless of his wishes, so whats the point in even addressing the problem with him at all.

"Four eyes is right, we can't just ignore the options we have." Fiery Severa is across from Laurent, but she is seated on a pew. Her arms are at her sides, her chest held high and her chin even higher. She's the only one in the room seated, but still she's looking down on the lot of them. Gerome doesn't know how she manages that, but is thankful that she isn't only looking down on him. Time has shown she is likely the most sympathetic, even if most can not tell it. She lives in a shadow as well, though one much lighter than his own.

"Even if you don't like it, we have to look at all of our options, and this one is better than the others. It isn't perfect, but it's better than what we have now." Severa's gaze is sharp, but not judgmental. You'd never believe how kind she really is, and how out of these companions in front of him, she is the only one that doesn't keep him at a safe distance. All things considered, Gerome figures it's a wonder any of them even talk to him any more.

"The decision is Lucina's to make. My personal reservations don't matter." He turns his gaze to Lucina then, and the mask in place so she can't tell what he is really feeling. She probably already knows the turmoil boiling under his eyes, but he doesn't want to think about her other opinions of him. "You are the exhalt. We will all follow your decision." Gerome can't help but feel the tone of resignation in his voice. Even if the mask hides his face, the edges in his voice will never go away.

Lucina looks at him then, with those blue, blue eyes of hers. She inhales and exhales before speaking. "Gerome, I want your permission. Even if you only give it out of duty, I still want your blessing." Why? So she can sleep better at night when all is said and done? Gerome knows he's being cruel; Lucina is a wonderful woman, and a strong one. He knows he should grant her this, but he just can't. After all the distancing, after all of the denials, Gerome simply can't bring himself to do it.

He remembers very well the look his parents gave to one another; he remembers seeing his mother swing her great axe in his father's defense, and he can see the tomes and swords as his father leaps to her aid. Gerome might not actually remember them as they were, but they seemed like they were in love. It's really the only good memory he has.

The other is not a memory at all, just an apparition, a fill-in-the-blank nightmare. It is the one that makes him sick. It is of the great exhalt's passing that he fears the most. The blood in his veins and the eyes on his face and the hair on his head are all the same, and that is frightening. He's promised himself he'll never touch a tome in his life, for certainly if he did he'd get more looks than he does now.

"I won't ask you to do it. I wouldn't ask that of you. When the time is right, I'll end him. It'll be quick, and clean." She looks at him, just keeps looking, as if she's struggling to hold onto something, and then Lucina looks away. "I'm so sorry Gerome. This is the decision I've made."

It's Laurent that looks at him then, and there is softness to his tone, but only a little. Laurent is not one to waste emotions. "I do not know what will happen to you, but I speak for all of us when I say we would prefer to keep you at hand." It's a nice way of saying he isn't trusted. Blood is thicker than water, and traitors have thicker blood than most. Keeping him at arms length means he's less likely to interfere, should he happen to grow sentiment over night.

He turns back to Lucina, and he is thankful that she can not see the betrayal in his eyes. Thankful that she can't see anything of his face. "I will abide by your decision Lucina." She can't see what he believes, what he wants to be true and what he must accept as fact. Lucina was not the only one to lose a father.

"I don't know if we can change anything by going to the past, but we cannot just sit here and wait for death." Lucina is strong, Gerome has to remember that. Perhaps she holds no ill will, perhaps she doesn't hope he will simply fade away once the deed is done. Can anyone remember you if you were never born?

He reaches into a pouch at his side, and Gerome tries not to notice when all three of them go rigid. If he had ever questioned loyalty and trust, he certainly shouldn't have; the reality is painfully clear.

When all he produces is a small, butterfly shaped mask, everyone in the room seems to loosen their stances. Gerome then looks at Lucina and starts toward her. He means to put it on her face, as a sign of acceptance. He is hoping that it can give her the anonymity she will need, and the security that he himself needs in his day to day life. But when he takes a step to close, she takes a step back. Her eyes are wide before she even realizes it. To him, she is that beautiful girl that always radiated strength, grace and confidence - the natural born leader. To her he must only be filthy blood; does she think he'll stab her if he gets to close?

Gerome stops short, knowing that certainly he was expecting to much; closeness is for those who are close, and he has no one but Minerva who truly believes in his integrity. Slowly, he extends his hand, the mask offered to her. Lucina looks at the mask as if it might bite her, before hesitantly taking it from his outstretched hand. Her fingers run over the edges, the delicate curves and the gold filigree.

"Concealing your identity would be wise. As the eldest, your parents would know you by the brand on your eye. If we are to move around without attracting attention, concealing of your eye would be in our favor." Laurent says what perhaps Gerome wanted to, and Gerome is very thankful. Explaining anything to Lucina would be a difficult task, he thinks. The looks she gives him without thinking about it are enough to make him lose all nerve.

She tries to smile at him, but it's tight lipped and forced. "Thank you, Gerome." His name is an afterthought; a reminder of who he is and who he is not for, both of them.

Severa is the one to break the ice again. With a 'humph' she stands up from her seat and folder her arms over her chest. "Then it's settled. We will go back, and should one of us fail, the others will have to pick up the slack." True to form, Severa walks right up to them, and extends her hand out in the air. The rest of them just look at it and then at her for a moment, expecting her to do something. After a while a blush starts to form on her cheeks and she angrily puts her hand back at her side.

"Were we perchance meant to pile our hands upon one another in a sign of comradery?" Laurent offers quizzically which makes Severa blush even more.

"You're all idiots! Of course I wouldn't want all of your sweaty hands on top of mine!" Her blatant snark and the persistent blush give her away, and Gerome catches Lucina smiling, before she catches him looking and sobers once more.

"On the contrary, I believe it is an excellent idea, Severa, even if my hand is sweaty and disgusting." Lucina extends her hand then, looking at the three of them expectantly. Severa is now to embarrassed to just do it now, so Laurent takes the next step, placing his free hand on top of hers. "I fail to see how this solidifies our resolve more so than it already is, but I suppose it might boost moral to have a fellowship of sorts."

Severa looks away, still blushing, but extends her hand as well. The three of them all then turn to him, expecting the world of him, or expecting him to ruin it. Slowly, he extends his hand, but it seems he's to slow. Severa rolls her eyes dramatically at him and grabs his hand, placing both hers and his on top of the pile.

"We will go back, and we will fix the past. Not only four ourselves, but for this world." Lucina states resolutely, and both Severa and Laurent nod in reply. A simple nod is all he needs to give, but even then Gerome can't bring himself to do it. So he grunts in response, because a grunt could really mean anything. The other three take that as an approval, which perhaps it is - it's certainly some form of commitment - and they all break away, Severa and he being the last as she lets go of him.

She then stretches and angles him a cocky smirk. "There. Now it's done and I'll never have to touch you sweaty people ever again!" Lucina smiles lightly at her, and Laurent simply shakes his head, though it certainly seems like approval. He'd thank Severa, but she'd never accept it. In her eyes she has done nothing, but realistically, she has brought them just a little closer. There is an ounce of trust in this pact now, and Gerome hopes that he'll be able to keep it. Perhaps one day, he'll even deserve it.


End file.
